Here is a snippet from the new RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE book coming out November 1. Sam Walton is one of my favorite all-time business men because he endured so many setbacks and criticisms on his way to massive success. Enjoy. Orrin Woodward

Walton, after a decade of being the Butler Brothers top performer, began to chafe under their rigid bureaucracy and mismanagement. The Butler Brothers, who at the time made huge profits with their business model, seemed incapable of recognizing the impending,  competitive threat from discounting stores to their variety store chain. But Walton, not suffering from the myopia, recognized before others that the variety stores chains must adapt or die. The billionaire Butler Brothers, in a hubris induced coma, preferred to play it safe. They may have secured higher margins temporarily, but ultimately, they destroyed their business by not responding to the “creative destruction” inherent in the free enterprise system.

Walton anticipated the future, realizing the days of high margins were following the dinosaur into extinction becoming a fatality of the discount store’s more competitively priced business model. Walton flew up to the Butler Brothers’ office in Chicago, proposing a partnership with them to launch a discount model. He wasn’t far into his presentation when he mentioned the margins would have to be cut from the typical 25% plus to around 12.5% or less of the sale’s price. This terminated the meeting. Walton recalled, “They blew up,” not willing to risk their easy profits; choosing instead, to ride out the variety store model into business oblivion. Exasperated, Walton explained that the profits would be made up on volume; that the high margins were going away regardless, but the Butler Brothers, blinded by the past, rejected the new reality along with Walton.

Not easily dismayed, Walton flew to Texas, hoping to become a franchiser of Herb Gibson, the highly successful discounter at the time. Gibson however, rejected Walton outright, seeing Walton, “as a bush-league variety-store merchant who possessed neither the finances nor the experience necessary to succeed in the Gibson chain.” Not surprisingly, it’s the revolutionary leaders with the largest of visions who must endure endless criticism from those who profit from the past, who stand to lose the most if the leader’s vision is fulfilled.  Walton, with every avenue possible rejected, did what all revolutionary leaders do in this situation – he did it anyway. In fact, 95% of the money for the original Walmart came from Walton himself; simply because no one else believed enough in his vision to invest.

If someone wants to truly understand what motivates me, then they need go no further than this post. Since 1967, the year of my birth, I have witnessed decline and demoralization because of the non-character centered leadership prevalent in our society. I am through waiting for someone to step up and lead, so have vowed to build the community myself to restore Western Civilization. Neither fame, fortune, or anything for that matter, that the world can offer motivates me in any degree like the thought of fulfilling God’s plan for my like through restoring God’s principles of grace, hope, charity, love, honor, integrity, character, and redemption into the cultural current. This is not a job for the weak of heart, but if you are tired of waiting also, then let’s stop waiting and start building LIFE! Sincerely, Orrin Woodward

Harvard historian, Niall Ferguson, in his book, Civilization: the West and the Rest, writes:

“. . . what distinguished the West from the Rest – the mainsprings of global power – were six identifiably novel complexes of institutions and associated ideas and behaviors. For the sake of simplicity, I summarize them under six headings: 1. Competition 2. Science 3. Property rights 4. Medicine 5. The consumer society 6. The work ethic.

To use the language of today’s computerized, synchronized world, these were the six killer applications – the killer apps – that allowed a minority of mankind originating on the western edge of Eurasia to dominate the world for the better part of 500 years.

This is of more than purely historical interest. For it is only by identifying the causes of Western ascendancy that we can hope to estimate with any degree of accuracy the imminence of our fall.

My conclusion is that we are already living through the twilight of Western predominance. But that is not just because most of the Rest have now downloaded all or nearly all of our killer apps. It is also because we ourselves have lost faith in our own civilization.”

Although I agree with Ferguson’s six killer apps, I contend that the killer apps cannot be downloaded directly into other cultures. Extending the computerized age analogy further, I believe that each of the six killer apps requires a certain “operating system” to function properly. This “operating system” is the Judeo/Christian Biblical principles upon which the West was founded.  In fact, if a person were to trace the historical origins of each of the six “killer apps”, he would discover that each is rooted within Western Civilization’s Biblical teachings. Lamentably, as the West progressively rejected it’s faith in God and Biblical principles (the operating system), in parallel, it lost faith in the institutions, ideas, and behaviors (killer apps) built upon the discarded foundation. For when the West lost its faith in God, it was only a matter of time before it lost its faith in everything. Simply put, when the foundation collapses, so too do the structures built upon it. Each of the six “killer apps” without the leavening effect from its Biblical foundation, descends into the exploitation and manipulation of the masses for the benefit of the elites. Nevertheless, the dismal current created from these poisonous beliefs can and must be reversed.

Instead of tossing the “killer apps” with the operating system, why not re-boot the operating system that set the West apart originally? Before thinking I have lost my mind, remember that for the last 18 years I have communicated to millions of people across North America, through a leadership training community now called LIFE. I have witnessed numerous examples of demoralized and downtrodden people turned around through the power of faith, hope, love, and leadership. In truth, there are no hopeless situations, but only hopeless people in situations. As a Christian leader, I refuse to lose hope for the future; I refuse to succumb to the demonic despair around me; and lastly, I refuse to surrender my role of sharing the good news with others. If a leader’s role is to reverse the current, leaving a legacy for others by “schooling his soul,” patiently forging the 13 Resolutions into his being, then what the West needs is to launch a leadership revolution. To use Arnold Toynbee’s “Challenge and Response” language, the challenge is identified, the response has been proposed, but where are the morally courageous leaders who will stand in the widening gap? Indeed, Western Civilization is committing suicide, having lost faith in her principles; the signs of decay and demoralization are readily apparent; the alarm bell has sounded for nearly a century; will any leaders answer the call?

In the past few months, since the announcement of LIFE, the TEAM, and more specifically me, have been under increasing online attacks. Why the sudden surge of negativity? Simple, LIFE is a game-changer that will change the rules of the profession. Since the LIFE business cannot be attacked, the next best thing is to attack the owners. Not being intellectually honest, they  follow the principle if one cannot attack the message, then attack the messenger. I know I am not perfect but these critics must believe they are.

When I was younger and naive, I was befriended by several “legends” in my old network marketing company. Since my business was the fastest growing in North America, I was exposed to the society of “Haters” early. People who didn’t know me, but with an axe to grind against Network Marketing, shot at me. In my inexperience, I took it personally, not professionally, wanting to fight back. However, the company’s rules, at the time, forbid any online discussions from distributors, so my hands were tied. When a person on my team started an anonymous blog, I realized this was the only way to get our side of the facts out. I didn’t start the blog, but I did contribute content. In fact, many of the board members, of which I was not a part of at the time, provided facts, figures, and later gossip that I passed on. For this, I am sorry. This was not helping my cause, but only hurting my attitude. Later, I requested for the blog shut to be down. It stopped posting, but for whatever reason the blogger refused to take down the content. In late 2005, I made a commitment not to fight back against critics, but instead, let the truth be my first, last, and only defense. I heard a beautiful quote that exemplifies this principle, “Don’t criticize the old, but just create the new.” LIFE is not about criticizing the old, merely focused on creating the new.

Although I am more than happy to entertain any genuine questions or concerns about the LIFE business model, I will not stoop into mud-slinging. In truth, LIFE shouldn’t even be perceived as a business threat because it will not accept applications from distributors under contract with other companies. We simply are not interested in building a business by raiding others networks. If any company has a leader under contratual obligations attempting to move over, all that it has to do is contact LIFE when it’s launched, we will remove his number immediately. Our goal is to build a business and help people, not hurt any current companies. Of course, anyone in networking can enjoy the benefits of the leadership as a customer only, helping him to become a better leader. The goal then, is to grow an organic community that reaches one million people.

With that said, let me share why I believe LIFE will reach one million people. Scott Larsen, probably Network Marketing’s most logical critic, was an engineer as I was. He pointedly reasoned why Network Marketing doesn’t work for most people, identifying the cost of of buying premium products as excessive. In fact, his price comparisons made the products offered look ridiculously overpriced compared to what a person could purchase similar merchandise at Walmart or Target. Larsen also identified that the compensation plans did not reward distributors appropriately for the level of work involved, leading to top networkers using system money fill the gap instead. Although I have no issue with someone making money from quality training, Larsen pointed out that the system became the main business and the products were just along for the ride. After reviewing his concerns, I had to admit Larsen was onto something.

After 3 years of attempting to drive change within my former company and 3 years of legal proceedings, I am finally free to pursue the vision. My partnership with Dallin Larsen has been a God-send to me. He believes in the dream to reach millions of people and has provided a green light to build LIFE. For a new person, if money isn’t an issue, then MonaVie products can be purchased in the fitness category immediately; however, if money is a constraint, then instead of having nothing to offer him, we can bring him into LIFE until we turn his finances around, eventually making the fitness category affordable for him. This is a true win-win partnership for both companies and why I respect Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year Dallin Larsen so much.

Maybe, I am mistaken. Perhaps LIFE isn’t the answer for this profession, but I do believe as an American, I have a right to discover this for myself. For anyone to assume that I launched Life to pad my bank account, he must either be living in a hole somewhere or have an agenda. It would have been much easier for me to surrender my dream and keep my money, but the vision refused to die. The TEAM leaders dreamed of an opportunity to change this industry, and we have paid dearly for the opportunity do so. This is not the actions of a money-hungry mob, but instead, a vision-oriented leadership group on its way to one million people.

Here are the five fixes proposed to change the rules of Networking forever:

First, Chris Brady and I wrote the Wall Street Journal and New York Times best seller Launching a Leadership Revolution. The book is used extensively by top corporate leaders. (I would gladly list their names and companies, however to protect them from being internet flamed, I won’t) I receive emails monthly from leaders who are teaching the book’s materials into corporate America. We realized that our leadership materials were world-class, not surprising, since we had to to build communities, despite the anchor of high-priced products. Since this book, both Chris and I have received numerous awards for our leadership blogs, twitter accounts, and online presence, recently commended as two of the Top 30 leadership gurus in the world. Indeed, LIFE is the only company with two Top 30 Leadership Gurus. For the first time in our Networking careers, we had products already in demand in the marketplace, since our leadership materials were selling briskly to customers already.

Second, by thoroughly reviewing the leadership field, we identified the pricing strategies of every major leadership supplier. Competitors Leadership CD’s ranged from a low of $12 to over $50 per CD on the high end. Because the TEAM is building and serving communities everyday, we are constantly learning and growing in the field of leadership, ensuring our information never becomes dated or out of touch. Simply stated, LIFE will be the lowest cost provider of the highest quality leadership material in the marketplace, period. No ifs, ands, or buts, about it. New members of LIFE can get started own their own business for under $150 which includes the first leadership materials. Through purchasing as little as $50 per month for personal development, he is fully qualified for bonuses. Instead of the $200, $300, sometimes as high as $600 a month in purchases, we are bringing Network Marketing to the people, at a price that they can afford. On top of this, if a member or even a customer, refers three other people as customers, his personal leadership subscription will be FREE! After LIFE launches, Network Marketing will be affordable for everyone. Where in the history of networking has a company launched with the proven top quality products, from recognized leaders in the field, all at the lowest price? Has this ever happened before? It will on November 1, 2011.

Third, by taking the best quality, lowest price, and adding the most lucrative compensation plan in the history of network marketing, one can quickly see why LIFE will be world-changing. With the benchmark compensation plans currently running around 50% of revenues, what would happen if a company, which was less concerned about it’s bottom line, and more concerned about helping people get financially free, were to release a marketing plan that started at 70% of every revenue dollar paid back to field leaders in bonuses. How is this possible? Simply put, each of the owners of LIFE has committed to make his money through leading communities, not by riding on his ownership shares. This is revolutionary because it brings field leadership to networking ownership with the goal to change people lives, not become billionaires. We studied leadership, because we experienced first hand the effects that leadership delivers into a person’s life, we intend to pay this blessing forward. In fact, a 70% payout is over twice as much money flowing to the community leaders as many of the top compensation plans in networking today. Don’t forget this is on top of MonaVie’s top notch compensation plan. As the LIFE business grows, I intend to go even higher. Can you imagine, receiving an un-promised and unexpected LIFE profit-sharing check for tens of thousand of dollars, all because LIFE is thriving financially? I can, and intend to make this vision a reality.

Fourth, the TEAM, with nearly 15,000 plus people attending seminars monthly, either live or through streaming video, is expanding its reach and scope monthly. LIFE Founders and leaders of the caliber of Chris Brady, Tim Marks, Claude Hamilton, George Guzzardo, Bill Lewis, and Dan Hawkins, each personally lead communities of thousands of people. If someone desires to learn leadership, I do not believe there is a better community to learn from anywhere in North America. Since 1999, we have been perfecting our craft, building numbers and building leaders. Because the Team is a performance-based culture, 100% of the profits remaining after expenses are flowed back to the field leaders who qualify as directors. Unlike most training companies, where a few keep all profits, we designed a fair system to reward the leadership team that builds the TEAM. No special deals period, everything is based upon numerical performance. What other training company can say that? Indeed, to my knowledge, TEAM is the only zero profit training company in the marketplace. Anyone who builds a community through serving others can become a Director, helping to train new leaders and be rewarded for doing so. In addition, thanks to the lucrative compensation plan associated with LIFE, the majority of a person’s income will come from the MLM, not the training system. The bigger the community the bigger the leader must be. Building large numbers requires grace, to love people where they are at, long enough for them to want to get better. However, no community is perfect. When issues arise, we have a culture that teaches conflict resolution, gaining “teachable moments,” from every issue, making each leader grow and improve. This is a TEAM difference.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone in Network Marketing. I have met some of my best friends in network marketing, as they are some of the hardest working, best attitude people on the planet.  In the West’s current leadership crisis, who knows but that some of the top networking leaders will stand up and do something about this mess. Many Americans and Canadians citizens are are wary of more Big Governments solutions to the problems facing us. Maybe it’s time for communities to grow large enough to solve these issues through social power, not State power. LIFE is a plan for citizens to join together, improving ourselves so we can improve our communities, ultimately improving the world. By combining world-class credibility, compensation, and community together, all at the lowest cost/price, we have designed the 4C’s for your success. If a person chooses to believe rumor, hearsay, and popular opinion, then all I can say is good luck and God bless you. But if a person is truly looking for an opportunity, an opportunity that the LIFE leaders invested millions to gain the freedom to offer, then your journey has ended. Welcome to the LIFE TEAM, and your destiny. It’s time to move on to 1 million people, what part will you play? Sincerely, Orrin Woodward

Chris Brady and I went to Lansing, Michigan for a Super Open.  With TEAM in it’s pre-launch phase of LIFE, numbers and excitement are peaking! With over 1500 in live attendance plus 760 TEAM Casts locations, with an average of 15-20 per house, this was the single biggest Open meeting in TEAM’s history.  Now people can enjoy the leadership training in the comfort of their own or a neighbors house, reducing the amount of time, travel and hotel space needed, while increasing the quality of speaker content across the community.  Here is a description of the intersectional quality of TEAM’s new business model – LIFE.  LIFE’s plan is to grow all 8F’s, helping serve each member with the only company with two of the Top 30 Leadership Gurus and New York Times Best Selling Authors.  Not too mention the lowest priced leadership products, all within the record setting TEAM community.  Finally, In November, LIFE will launch the most lucrative compensation plan in the history of Networking. I love win-win-win, and this plan is a win for customers, win for TEAM members, and win for Dallin Larsen. I personally want to thank Dallin Larsen, Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year, for having the vision and foresight to partner with leaders in a win-win fashion. When TEAM reaches a million people, he will be happy with the results. 🙂 Onward to 1 million! God Bless, Orrin Woodward

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3vp4wupXVM]

Thanks to the dedicated commitment of the TEAM PC and Dallin Larsen, LIFE (Living Intentionally For Excellence) has been officially pre-launched. The goal is to bring Leadership Development, LIFE Coaching, and the value of Social Networking together in one company. LIFE brings leadership and personal development to the masses, providing two of the top 15 Leadership Gurus at the best price points in the industry. In the last 60 days, since we announced we would pre-launch at the the Fresno and Columbus majors, our TEAM numbers have grown nearly 3,000 people in attendance at seminars. LIFE is tapping into one of the most important needs for the West – Principle-based Leadership. If you are sick and tired of waiting for someone else to change your situation, perhaps its time to start LIFE. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Below is a press release from the Team website that just went up today:

Over the course of this weekend and the next, at the Team’s Summer Leadership Conventions, details will be rolled out announcing the launch of LIFE: Living Intentionally For Excellence, a business that will monetize materials and information designed to improve people’s lives through the “8F’s:” Fitness, Faith, Family, Finances, Friendship, Following, Freedom, and Fun.  The official launch of business is set for November 1, 2011.

With over 100 years experience in the community building profession, the seven members of the Team’s Policy Council are excited to continue their partnership with MonaVie as they advance this new initiative. MonaVie will remain the exclusive provider of wellness products in the Fitness “F,” and of course, continue to provide their industry-acclaimed compensation plan. The LIFE initiative simply adds to this, pursuing the other seven “F’s” directly with resources designed to make the biggest impact in people’s lives, while offering to compensate participants for these efforts.

Below is a sample of the flyer being distributed to all interested parties at the two leadership conventions this week (click on images to expand).  

I am moving from blogharbor to WordPress. Have much to share. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

This video describes me as a senior engineer at GM, working my way up the corporate ladder only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall. So glad I fell into Networking, Free Enterprise and Win-Win principles! Freedom is a leadership choice.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNI–ULZ-dM]
I have spent the last several years studying the scams, schemes, and cons perpetrated on the American masses through the use of coercion.  Being a NY Times Bestselling leadership author, I cannot sit by idly and watch Americans lose their freedoms without speaking up. No scam can last unless backed by a monopoly of force/coercion.  Government is the only true monopoly of force available in any society.  Coercion requires force, which involves either government intervention or mafia type tactics.  Free enterprise businesses, like Network Marketing, cannot be a scam, since people are free to come and free to go, they will simply leave and the scam will collapse.  In fact, LIFE Leadership is a model of free enterprise where people are free to grow or free to leave.

Government scams like social security, income taxes, and fiat money inflation, to name just a few, take advantage of the masses, since the masses are forced to participate against their will, whether their needs are being met or not.  Learning and defending American freedoms, against the encroachment of coercive government interventions, has become a key educational plank in my readings, writings and speeches of late.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzKAe6mvjM4]

Scams coerce participation

If someone attempts a scam, without the power of coercion, it will not last.  For example, if someone attempted to sell a property for twice the market rate, perhaps a clueless customer would fall for it, but it couldn’t last as the market will quickly identify the offending party and avoid any business dealing with him.  But who can avoid business dealings with an all pervasive government?  Who can opt out of social security?  Who can opt out of excessive taxes?  Who can opt out of the government’s fiat money?  Scams require force to continue the scheme over the long term.  I have spent years of my life, studying and calling out scams to help educate Americans on the work cut out for us to eliminate the government supported scams through the American system of representative government.

In fact, Murray Rothbard, the late Dean of the Austrian School of Economics, the economics school with the best track record in predicting the effects of government intervention in free economies, stated:

But, above all, the crucial monopoly is the State’s control of the use of violence: of the police and armed services, and of the courts—the locus of ultimate decision-making power in disputes over crimes and contracts. Control of the police and the army is particularly important in enforcing and assuring all of the State’s other powers, including the all-important power to extract its revenue by coercion.

For there is one crucially important power inherent in the nature of the State apparatus. All other persons and groups in society (except for acknowledged and sporadic criminals such as thieves and bank robbers) obtain their income voluntarily: either by selling goods and services to the consuming public, or by voluntary gift (e.g., membership in a club or association, bequest, or inheritance). Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion, by threatening dire penalties should the income not be forthcoming. That coercion is known as “taxation,” although in less regularized epochs it was often known as “tribute.” Taxation is theft, purely and simply even though it is theft on a grand and colossal scale which no acknowledged criminals could hope to match. It is a compulsory seizure of the property of the State’s inhabitants, or subjects.

Many will call Network Marketing a scam, but unless backed by government coercion, meaning people are not free to leave, Networking cannot be a scam.  On the contrary, Networking is the purest example of free enterprise left in the Western world.  People win or lost on their efforts, not government protection of the profession. Wherever you see someone producing long term sustainable results in Networking, you know that a leader is building a winning culture that works. Networking has been around for well over sixty years, and scams cannot last that long unless backed by some form of government coercion. In Networking, some will win, and some will lose, but that simply defines life, not a scam.

Gabriel Kolko, a New Left leaning historian, described why the US government intervened with business at the turn of the 20th century, “Ironically, contrary to the consensus of historians, it was not the existence of monopoly that caused the federal government to intervene in the economy,
but the lack of it.”

Big Businesses built huge Trust in each field, in an attempt to control market prices, squeezing extra profits from consumers in the scam, but it didn’t work. Big Business (Morgan, Rockefellers, etc), ended up running to Big Government,  using government’s monopoly of force to regulate industries and create extra profits for themselves.  This is a scam on every consumer in every field affected and why I cannot remain quiet.

I love my business relationship with Dallin Larsen and MonaVie, and I have friends in many other Networking companies. What I enjoy about our profession is the right for any company to create a better business model and compete in free enterprise.  There are no huge Trusts in Networking. Let the best company and community win period, without the aid of government to stack the deck in Big Businesses favor.  There are many great companies and leaders in Networking and the more we lift one another, the more the Networking tide rises for all in our profession. I don’t have to attack another enterprise in order to build my own. If you really believe in your Networking business, just build it, allowing your actions to speak louder than your words. Leaders will flock from around the world if you have truly created a better business model.  Any business that has been successful over the years, if not the decades, must be serving their customers in order to survive in a true free enterprise model.

Robert Kiyosaki – author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad
Network marketing teaches basic, critical life skills. It teaches people how to overcome their fears, how to communicate, and how to handle rejection and maintain persistence. This kind of education is absolutely priceless.  Here’s what I tell people: “Even if you don’t like it, stay with it for five years and you’ll be better equipped to survive in the real world of business. And you’ll be a better person.” The people who are successful in network marketing have a spiritual cause. They genuinely want to help better others’ lives. If you don’t have that, if you just want a paycheck, then work for the post office!

Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure

When people call the entire Network Marketing profession a scam, merely because they didn’t succeed, it demonstrates their lack of understanding of scams and personal responsibility.  No one should teach that success in Networking is easy, since it’s not, but failure certainly isn’t easy either.  Malcolm Gladwell, a best selling author, teaches that success in any field requires 10,000 hours of diligent study and action.  Anything less, and that person is still an amateur in his profession.  For someone to try Networking for several years, and then state it’s a scam, is simply a version of Aesop’s fables, sour grapes from an amateur fox who couldn’t reach the desired fruit.  For example, in high school, I wrestled in many tournaments.  I could not of imagined any wrestler calling the tournament a scam because he didn’t receive a medal.  The sour grapes wrestler would have been laughed out of the arena, since many do not win medals, not having at that moment, learned the skills and put in the hours to win at a tournament level.

Seth Godin is author of the New York Times bestsellers The Dip and Tribes
Network marketing works when it’s not about you. It works when it is about the customer. Not sort of about the customer as a way of helping you, not kinda about the customer when you imagine how they could act like you and become part of your downline. No, it works when it is generous and transparent and true. If someone buys from you because they are a friend or because it’s easier than avoiding you, that’s not about the customer. Here’s my dream for you: find a product and a price and a story that people choose to seek out. Discover a niche that people would miss if it disappeared. Offer an experience that’s about more than money, more than making a living and more than recruiting a new salesperson. When you bring joy and utility and trust to people (at a fair price), they’ll embrace you.

Anonymous Victims Online

In today’s society, people can write anonymously about their victimization, crying about their lack of results, claiming to be scammed from the Networkers (better wrestlers) who kicked their butts in free enterprise, while the victims claim it was rigged against them, even though others seem to be winning while they are whining.  If someone felt they were hurt, why not seek out the leaders of the company or community for resolution?  Doesn’t this sounds like the right thing, not to mention the honorable thing to do?  Rather than become Haters – post anonymously, hiding their identities as well as their real motives, assaulting the reputations of people that they don’t personally know, why not call the community leaders or the company to get the issue resolved?  This is why anonymous blog postings hold no value with me. If someone doesn’t feel strong enough about his opinion to state his real name, then why should I give his opinion any credence at all?  Any reputable company would serve the customer in a heartbeat.

I have personally been involved in several customer issues myself over the years, and they were amicably resolved.  I believe in customer satisfaction and have grown my business through the application of this principle consistently.  In fact, the TEAM initiated a email help system, similar to Amazon’s, to ensure all issues are resolved promptly.  If anyone leaves the TEAM unhappy, it wasn’t through lack of concern, but through lack of interest by the customer to address.  Perhaps, the real reason that many post in Networking are anonymous, postings that act as if they are upset at the company, are because they are from competitors, not real customers.  These are the bottom feeders of Networking, the parasite marketers, who, believing in a win-lose scarcity mentality, blatantly attack one company’s reputation for the alleged benefits supplied to their current company.  Sadly, this egregious behavior happens often, leading to much of the negative written online.  When the perceived opportunity for gain exceeds the applied character of those involved, parasite marketing will typically occur.

Free to Win & Free to Lose

In America, one is free to win, free to lose, and, even free to blame.  But unless one is forced against his will, a force that’s necessary for any real scam, one will look silly to blame his loss on anything but his own incompetence.  It’s foolish to blame others, who worked harder, applied themselves more, and developed the skills to win. Calling winners names, calling the tournament (profession) a scam, pointing fingers at others, all in an effort to salve a wounded pride.  This may take the focus off off his lack of skills temporarily, but it reveals more about the character of the sender of the toxic message than the receiver’s character.  It seems that ‘passing the buck’ is endemic in today’s society, but one of the goals of the Networking is to teach people personal responsibility.  Accepting responsibility is the beginning of all leadership growth. In Networking, unless the person was forced to attend meetings against his will, forced to buy materials without a buy back provision, why is he passing judgment on others for his lack of results?  The minute you blame others for your failures is the minute you surrender responsibility for your own life.  In the Team, we teach that freedom is a gift and we support your freedom to win, lose or leave, voting with your own feet.  The tens of thousands who are part of TEAM, were not coerced into joining, but joined freely by buying into the leadership culture.  The TEAM leaders win by serving customers, not controlling them, even offering a 30 day, no questions asked, 100% return policy for any items purchased.  No business would be foolish enough to publicly state that, unless they knew that 99.99% plus of their customers were happily served. All reputable Networking companies in our profession offer similar refund policies.

Stephen M.R. Covey is author of the New York Times bestseller The Speed of Trust
To me, the most interesting dimension of network market-ing is the focus on building relationships of trust. All parties must be able to trust one an- other, or nothing moves forward. Accountability, transparency and other high-trust behaviors clearly flow out of your character and competence, which in turn help to improve, solidify and create better relationships. Those relationships are powerful fruits that enable you to enjoy greater collaboration, a better reputation and shared accomplishment. When done well, network marketing is the speed of trust in action.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rtQ-IVcvAo&w=480&h=385]

Team – Leadership Development Engine

My friend, John Maxwell, a top selling leadership author, teaches that everything rises and falls on leadership.  In my business ventures, I have focused on improving people’s leadership levels, thus improving their results.  The many success stories achieved from this approach boggles the mind.  Literally thousands of couples have reduced debts, improved relationships, and freed up their time from the mundane tasks, to focus on the important ones, by applying the principles learned from the TEAM leadership system.  Does everyone get wealthy?  Of course not, not everyone will discipline themselves daily to achieve that level of success.  The key point is that those who do apply themselves, do achieve success.  Similarly, those who don’t apply themselves consistently have no right to blame TEAM for their lack of discipline or poor thinking. Dan & Lisa Hawkins, a mechanic and day care provider, Chris & Danae Mattis, a counselor and dance instructor, and Marc & Kristine Miletello, both teachers, to name just a few of the TEAM leaders, all started from different walks of life, but all have achieved success through changing their associations and their thinking.  Instead of sharing their stories for them, I let them speak for themselves in the following YouTube videos.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32iwvGzGpgs&w=640&h=385]

First Year 50 Million Dollar Leadership Company

Chris Brady and I co-authored of the number one Wall Street Journal best seller for two weeks in a row – Launching a Leadership Revolution. We also helped co-founded, along with several other leaders, a 50 million dollar plus leadership conglomerate.  Gladwell’s 10,000 hours sure paid off for both Brady and myself.  After five years, neither one of us had much success in Networking, but instead of quitting we chose to improve, leading to tens of thousands of satisfied customers.  One either hates losing enough to change or one hates changing enough to lose.  Brady and I chose to improve, as we hate losing, others may choose quitting, as they hate changing.  I support their choices, because I support the freedom to choose. Giving people the freedom to make their own decisions, and the freedom to live with the subsequent results is the American way.  If you win, you get the credit, but correspondingly, if you lose, you must take the blame.  This is what made America great, and what my parents, along with competitive sports taught me as a young boy.  No leader is good enough to make someone win against their will.  In the TEAM, we commit to providing the best leadership training available for the dollar invested, but you must commit to the personal growth and the actions necessary to convert the training into results. People like Hawkins, Mattis, and Militello applied the principles and changed their lives.  What you will do, is up to you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16BGmUCV16U&w=640&h=390]

What Scams have I studied to date?

If you found this site looking for my research into the coercion based scams that I have studied so far, here is a partial list to get started.

1. Social Security Scam
2. Fiat Money Scam
3. Tariff Scam
4. Democracy Scam
5. National Bank Scam
6. U.N. Scam

God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Here is a snippet from the leadership resolution chapter of my upcoming book. Enjoy. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

What’s the Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger?
Chris Brady and I, in our New York Times best seller, Launching a Leadership Revolution (LLR), taught, in chapter four, the Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger (TLL), a measurement of one’s leadership abilities.  Every leader must grow in his character, task and relationships, in order to lead at the highest levels.  Each of the three areas interact with one another, allowing leadership to grow when one grows personally.  The TLL measured Character, Task, and Relationships, on a scale from zero to ten, multiplying each of these scores together (review LLR for more detail) to obtain the total score.  For example, if someone rated themselves a two on Character, a one on Task, and a two on Relationships, then the total score would be 2*1*2 = 4.  The lowest score, one which many, including the author, score when they start their leadership journey is zero.  The highest score, one which no reader will ever obtain is one thousand – 10*10*10 = 1,000.  Perfection, although strived for daily, will never be achieved, since no one reading this is perfect, but the TLL has helped tens of thousands of people to evaluate their current leadership score, helping them identify areas in need of further improvement.

Who is Theodore Sturgeon?
Theodore Sturgeon, a science fiction writer, in 1958, in an attempt to refute the many critics of science fiction, wrote,  “I repeat Sturgeon’s Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. are crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crap is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other art forms.”  Sturgeon’s Law validated a truth proven again and again in our mass participation internet age. For example, if a person were to review all YouTube videos, he would find the majority (90%) were crud, but the remaining 10% were informative or entertaining. The content providers for Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, display the same trends, with less than 10% of the content authors providing around 90% of the useful content. Another example is American Idol, where numerous contestants audition for the opportunity to showcase their talents on TV.  Can anyone imagine having to listen to every person who auditions for the show?  Tens of thousands audition, but only the best ever are viewed by TV audiences.  Is anyone shocked that 90% of contestants are eliminated quickly, since American Idol follows Sturgeon’s Law, as all human endeavors do?  The remaining contestants, the 10% with real talent, are evaluated further, eventually filtering down to the select few who appear on TV.  One shouldn’t criticize American Idol because 90% of the auditions are poor or outright bad, as it couldn’t be otherwise by the simple truth of humanity shared in Sturgeon’s Law.

Let’s Combine TLL with Sturgeon’s Law
By studying and analyzing Sturgeon’s Law further, one realizes that it represents beautifully the art of leadership, the idea that anyone can lead, but few will, simply because leadership is tough, requiring a focused disciplined approach.  This doesn’t mean people are crud, but only that their leadership development still needs work to be effective. The TLL reveals that leaders must be effective in three key leadership attributes – Character, Task and Relationships. In other words, leaders must advance into the elite 10% of Sturgeon’s Law in each key area.  Sturgeon’s Law, when applied to the TLL, reveals that only 10% of the people will excel in character, task, or relationships, but a leader must excel at all three; therefore, Sturgeon’s Law reveals that only 10%x10%x10% will excel in all three areas, explaining why true leadership occurs one in a thousand, in a typical community.  In other words, only 1 out of 1000 people will ever discipline his character, task, and relationships, breaking through Sturgeon’s Law, entering into the select group of leaders who influence others in a positive direction.  This number, 1 out of a 1,000, is the estimate used by leadership gurus around the world, even those who have never heard of Sturgeon’s Law of the TriLateral Leadership Ledger.  Gladwell reports that a performer can build and maintain a community of around 100-150 people, but a leader, someone who is mastering leadership, who leads performers (see LLR book) of these 100-150 people groups will develop about once in a thousand people.    In any community,  a thousand people won’t just gather by themselves, rather, it requires a leader at the highest levels of TLL achievement to attract, serve, and lead them. Performers then, can build an organization of around 100-150 people, but if one is building in a community of thousand of people, then leaders are required, people who break through Sturgeon’s Law on all three attributes of the TLL.

What is Your Score?
Study each of three attributes of leadership in the TLL. The common tendency is for a person to overrate himself when tabulating his TLL score.  But, with the increase in tribes and communities, a simple reality check for the TLL score is to compare one’s results with one’s following.  For example, if a person has around 100 people attending in his tribe, then his TLL score is around 50 points, but by developing three performers who can lead 100 people each, his TLL grows to 150 points. Top leaders, with over 1000 people attending community get togethers, score over 300 points on their TLL evaluations. By knowing the total score, a person can backtrack and calculate individual score in Character, Task, and Relationships, multiplying them together to ensure he is not suffering from self-delusion.  Every leader has room to grow because no one reading this will hit anywhere close to 1000 points, with few, very few, ever hitting above 500 points.  This leads to Woodward’s Law, a natural leadership corollary to Sturgeon’s Law, stating, “90% of leaders are convinced they are part of Sturgeon’s 10%”  In other words, even though only 10% of the people will ever truly lead at the upper echelons in any category, the single biggest reason that most leaders do not continue the growth journey, is that most believe they have already arrived.  Good truly is the enemy of great.  This may sound strong, but self-deception has ended more leadership careers than any other factor.  When a person lies to himself, why is anyone shocked that he starts lying to others?  Sadly, most people would rather live with comfortable lies than deal with uncomfortable truths. Similar to the proverbial ostrich, who sticks his head in the sand, hoping to avoid the hungry lion by refusing to acknowledge him, but not surprisingly, this doesn’t alter the lion’s dinner plans. It’s only when a leader grows personally over a lifetime, that he attracts other leaders into his community or tribe, leaders who lead organizations of thousands themselves, changing the lifetime leader into a servant of other top leaders.  A leaders of this magnitude refuses to work for time punchers, dictators, or micro-managers, but loves responsibility and feeding on visionary leadership.  Imagine developing into a servant leader, thus attracting leaders into one’s community, forming a tribe of volunteers who can lead change in any field they set their minds to. Leadership then, isn’t a nice add on feature, but an essential part of every world-changer, as John Maxwell said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Here is a tidbit on courage. Enjoy. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Courage is the choice to get involved in defending one’s highest held principles, even when one’s personal interest isn’t at stake. Gus Lee, author of the inspiring book, Courage, wrote, “But courage doesn’t depend on practical outcomes, risk versus gains analysis, or collateral impact on others – that’s pragmatism.  Pragmatism is the application of practicality, utility and consequences to decision making.”  Courage, on the other hand, is principle based, causing a courageous leader to sacrifice personal benefits in order to uphold the greater principle on the line.  In fact, Winston Churchill, the legendary English Prime Minster who stood up to Hitler, said, “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”  Lee writes, “Courage is addressing wrongs in the face of fear, regardless of consequences, of risk to self, or of potential practical gains. That’s why everyone practices pragmatism and risk balancing. . . Courageous leadership is about utilizing all of our brains, character and spirit to advocate principles regardless of the odds, heedless of fear, apart from collateral impact, and independent of personal career needs.”  Les Csorba, in his book, Trust, concurs, writing, “When we follow leaders without a moral compass interested in only results, get ready for the ditch. The ditch into which modern leadership has fallen is the pit of pragmatism.”   Many confuse compromise and pragmatism, but Stephen L. Carter, Yale Law School professor, discerns the key difference, “Compromises that advance high principles are acceptable; those that do not advance high principles are not.”  Pragmatism is compromising our principles for the short term personal advancements, but noble compromises entail sacrifice of personal gains to advance the highest of principles.  Lee writes that, “Courage is manifested in courageous communication, courageous leadership, courageous problem-solving, and in resolving high-end conflicts.”   Sadly, most people will do anything except address the underlying issues, avoiding the perceived conflict because they suffer from a lack of courage, thus lack character to produce consistent leadership results.  Simply put, without practicing courageous actions in communication, leadership and problem solving, one cannot be a successful leader.  David, without the courage to face Goliath, would still be known as a shepherd of sheep, instead of the King of Israel.  In the same way, people, without the courage to confront their Goliath’s, will not achieve leadership mastery.  Courage, in today’s pragmatic world, is a lost virtue that must be re-birthed in order for character based leadership to thrive again.